Record Number of Tourists Expected to Visit Israel This Year Despite Border Troubles

Figures for the past six weeks indicate that the steady annual growth in tourist traffic from the U.S. to Israel will continue this summer, Deputy Minister of Tourism Yehuda Shaari said today following his return from a three-week coast-to-coast tour of the U.S. Mr. Shaari attended a series of meetings aimed at boosting the sale of shares in the Tourist Projects Development Company. He said $11 million of a $20 million issue had already been sold. The Ministry of Tourism also announced that a record number of tourists are expected to visit Israel this year despite the border troubles. Thirty-seven thousand tourists arrived here during the first half of this year, 14,000 more than in the same period last year. On his way home from the U.S. Mr. Shaari paid a visit to Spain to study the development of tourist resorts there. He said Israel could learn a great deal from the Spaniards who prefer a small margin of profit but a large turnover to high profits per tourists with a small turnover.